This invention relates to binders of the type commonly having snap-ring sheet retainers. Such binders conventionally are constructed from three pieces of straight edge rectangular board joined together at front and rear hinge lines by lamination between an inside cover sheet and an outside cover sheet. These binders have a sharp, angular transition of surface in the spine area, and when they are stood in a row on a shelf or desk they are difficult to grasp. Moreover, this angular surface transition does not interface comfortably in a person's hand when the binder is carried with the spine down. Furthermore, the straight exterior edge opposite the spine does not offer the user an identifiable holding area when the product is carried spine up.